ATLANTA, GA — You can install a state-of-the-art hvac system, but unless it is properly cared for, the customer won’t get the performance they paid for — and they could get poor IAQ to boot.

That’s why new requirements have been included in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) 2001 ventilation standard. The requirements are meant to ensure that the ventilation system design is implemented and then functions throughout the life of buildings.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62-2001, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, sets minimum ventilation rates and other requirements for commercial and institutional buildings. The 2001 standard incorporates the 1999 standard as well as seven new addenda.

Addendum 62l adds a section on construction and ventilation system startup, recognizing that acceptable IAQ is impacted by more than just the design of the hvac system.

Addendum 62m creates a new section on operation and maintenance procedures, based on the importance of these ongoing activities in order to achieve acceptable indoor air quality.

“While the design of an hvac system affects indoor air quality, the installation, operation and maintenance of the system hvac the building have a significant impact as well,” said Andrew Persily, chair of the Standard 62 committee.

Other addenda included in Standard 62-2001 are:

  • Addendum 62j, which replaces the current requirement for natural ventilation systems with a prescriptive requirement similar to the requirements in many model building codes;
  • Addendum 62p, which clarifies previous requirements for providing combustion air to vented and unvented appliances and makes it clear that vented appliances must be exhausted to the outdoors;
  • Addendum 62q, which modifies several definitions for clarity and deletes others that are not used in the standard, or for which dictionary definitions are adequate;
  • Addendum 62s, which clarifies and updates requirements for equipment-related particle filtration, intending to reduce the rate of dirt accumulation on ventilation system components, including ductwork; these requirements are intended to lower the level of particulate matter in the ventilation system where wet surfaces are; and
  • Addendum 62w, which defines performance criteria for airstream surface materials in ventilation system equipment and ducts, to reduce the potential for microbial growth and dissemination through the ventilation system.
The cost of Standard 62-2001 is $48 for ASHRAE members, $60 for nonmembers. To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Service, 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329; 800-527-4723 (U.S. and Canada); 404-636-8400 (worldwide); 404-321-5478 (fax);www.ashrae.org(website).

Publication date: 12/24/2001